In todays' state of the art, when computer peripheral devices are located in spaces other than that which the computer itself occupies, great care and planning must be given to the interspacial apertures used for conducting pre-made cables (those cables with connector ends already attached) which will be used to connect the peripherals to the computer. The most common method used is to ignore the savings in material and to simply conduct the cable along a baseboard, through a doorway, and down the baseboard on the other side of the wall until the cable has reached its desired position. This method results in an unsightly installation, and it is wasteful of material. Additionally, it presents the working space with a tripping hazzard and it is inflexible in that cables are generally fastened to the baseboard and are difficult to remove and reuse.
When cables are conducted through an interspacial barrier, the state of the art provides various types of one or two piece barrier mountable moldings or plates which cover the aperture which has been cut into the barrier to allow the computer cables to pass through the barrier. Some currently available products provide conduit which passes through the barrier and connects to the plates which have been mounted on either side of the penetrated barrier thus providing a dedicated channel through which the computer cable can pass. These products, when assembled and installed, generally reduce the barrier aperture to less than a one inch diameter. When the aperture diameter is reduced to less than two inches, installations must be pre-wired with the cable being conducted through the barrier first and the appropriate connectors being attached to the cable ends at a later time. This must be done because the most commonly used cable connectors are over two inches in width. This situation prohibits the use of premade cables as well as the removal of cable which have already been installed with connector ends attached. Smaller apertures also greatly increase the difficulty of conducting additional cable through the barrier, much the same as it is difficult to thread a needle. Some products come in two pieces which when apart have a large aperture. This facilitates the initial installation but does nothing to assist in the removal of existing pre-made cables or the subsequent installation of additional pre-made cables.
Another method used calls for wall mounted plates onto which a cable with its connector can be attached. This plate has another cable connected to its interior side which in turn can either be connected directly to the computer or to a network of cables which in turn is connected to the computer. This method is extremely inflexible in that it will accommodate only a fixed number of cables, generally one or two. It is also wasteful of connector parts in that it requires at least one additional connector per cable.
With the inflexibility and inadequacy of current technology, most installations generally consist of holes cut into barriers to allow cables to be conducted from one space to an adjoining space with no attempt made to close or mold the aperture after the cutting operation has been completed.